I'm going to tell you a story in a distant place. Ben is 19 years old, and he belongs to the military academy of Lebrassia, A far away country. He is disciplined and intends to do everything the right way, according to his own criteria.
Lebrassia is a very militarized country, but where its population has been living in peace for a long time. And this tranquility is due to the fact that the only two major countries known at present in these distant lands are, precisely, Lebrassia, and its ally the nation of Oldania. The latter country does not have a powerful army like Lebrassia, since they are still in the era of castles and soldiers in armor, and their technology has reached the steam engines. Lebrassia, on the other hand, has tanks, flying ships, and huge cannons.
Ben was very excited, but quietly, disciplined, because he would be, for the first time, on an official flight in an airship, a huge flying ship with cannons of all sizes and on all sides of the huge vehicle. It was pine green, very military, metallic tone with some details in other shades of green, just like most of the uniforms and equipment of the Lebrassia army. Red flags with a hammer and sickle adorned the caravan of war machines in the skies. Yes. Lebrassia is a distant communist country, but free, and its people live peacefully. They have banished kings and religions, and now they do not believe in gods, they believe in man.
It was a rainy and dark morning, Ben was preparing for his first official flight on a combat vessel, however, his superior informed him of the following message:
"One of the flying craft has disobeyed today's planned orders, broke formation and headed northbound towards the border, with the objective of opening fire on our allied nation Oldania. The unit was shot down by our forces once it was declared an enemy and military target.
Ben Zerrouk, has been temporarily disengaged from his duties from the Lebrassia army until further notice, he will be transferred immediately to Hare Hill, to the east, where his personal belongings will arrive at the house assigned to him. "
An unprecedented riot had occurred in the country, and the military close to that event had been sent back home, for security reasons. Hare Hill was an area adjacent to the village of Vemen, a nearby municipality of the Capital Fressen. This area was characterized by tall pine trees, trees that ranged from deep green to reddish hues to orange and gold. The grass tended to be a somewhat dark, deep green, adorned with small white or yellow flowers that were arranged almost perfectly like wallpaper. Except for the eastern capital, Fressen, which was at a considerable height, with an enviable view of the rest of the place. Fressen had perpetual snow, and its cherry-red decorations stood out. The latter was the place where Ben really wanted to be moved to.
As he arrived in an official vehicle, Ben noticed how steep that hill was, as he wondered how comfortable it would be to move from his new borrowed house to the other side. It really was a rather uninhabited place, as he reached the top, he found that there were only three houses, two stories each. Two in a row and one a little further away. Houses of stone and clay roof. With vines reaching up to the roof. Surrounded by tall pine trees.
The most powerful reason Ben preferred living in Fressen to Hare Hill is because as a child he lived there for a while, in that place, but was not too happy. Several of his acquaintances still live in the foothills, and have persisted in life, without moving too much elsewhere.
Ben makes a quick inspection of the place. He notices that his new house is sparsely furnished, with a large aged pine bed, some oak furniture, and trunks to store his belongings. Despite being good looking, he doesn't like to socialize too much, he enjoys solitude somewhat, but it also overwhelms him when it sucks him in and he feels he needs to have some social contact. Almost all the rooms had windows, and precisely, the one in the kitchen, which overlooked the backyard, showed Vemen's villa at the end of the abyss. You couldn't see much, just some rooftops, looking down a little, beyond the sloping fields covered with small and delicate flowers.
Just to the right side, there was a similar house, he could see from the living room window that some young women live there. All blonde, pinkish white skin, like porcelain, wearing light and soft cotton dresses, with floral motifs. I noticed that it looked like a family, there was a pregnant young adult woman in her early twenties, a teenage girl, and a little girl under ten years old. They were playing as they hung freshly laundered clothes on the clotheslines in the backyard, laughing through the fades of an unusual breeze.
Ben looked for something to eat. He didn't have too much, some oatmeal bread, dried pork sausage and sheep cheese. Also some strawberry jelly. He looked for some blankets to sleep early, as he didn't want to socialize or say hello to his new neighbors. Nor did he care to know who lived in the third house that was a little farther away. Sleep took him fast, and he awoke to some noise that startled him. In addition to the blue stars in the night sky, and the orange aurora on the horizon, the lights of Vemen could be seen below, and even up there, the noise of the town's brewery could be heard.
He felt a little curious, like when you feel like you are missing out on something at the time, but he went back to bed.
He was practically without any specific obligation to fulfill, just waiting for a new order. He tried to sleep soundly that night, but he was waking up all the time, everything had happened too fast for him.
A cold breeze woke him from his sleep, but it was no longer morning, it was afternoon. So he decided to go down to Vemen. As he went out, one of his neighbors smiled from the window. The teenager, but she didn't say anything to him.
He passed by the third house, but saw no one. Then he encountered the downhill path, boy is it steep. Anyone having a stumble and he could fall tumbling down. The stone path was covered with pine trees, and many warm colored trees, Reddish and yellow leaves were constantly falling.
Despite not being on duty, Ben's military bearing was very noticeable, and he wore black leather clothing. He had an erect gait and an imposing bearing, even for such a young man. Passing by several stone and wood buildings, more reddish trees and more vines everywhere. The tavern looms on the other corner. It is shaped like a barrel. Just as he was about to arrive, he changed his mind and thought it was a better idea just to go there to buy some more food. But he felt anxious and his heart was pounding and he headed for the entrance of the place to get it over with. There was live music and people chatting happily, but little by little several eyes started to focus on him. He began to see some familiar faces, among them his cousin he hadn't seen for years, Jem, and a childhood acquaintance, Glowen.
His cousin Jem was known to be one of the most beautiful in those parts, she was blonde, with very long hair, and green eyes, very intelligent and calculating, while Glowen was a girl with a beautiful face, short jet hair and black eyes and very white skin and red lips, although a little overweight, but a natural leader, very spontaneous. I was amazed at how much they had grown.
Despite this, no one came to greet him, not even, which seemed a bit strange even for him. Slowly he walked towards the center of the crowd and noticed a very strange person. Someone he had never seen before.
He laughed out loud, almost uncomfortably. He felt pity for others, he would shout like a buffoon and the others would laugh in unison. He was a very tall guy, very thin, with a tousled mane of intense red hair, and deep turquoise eyes. He seemed to have a shy, mocking smile.
Everyone around him seemed delighted with his stories. But what was really offensive to Ben was that this guy was wearing military fatigues, it seemed like a joke in very bad taste planned against him. -Kramer, they called him. He had never seen him before. His cousin Jen finally came over to greet him, after a long time of ignoring him because she was listening to the stories of this Kramer guy. It was a very hurried greeting, and he returned to his seat. Glowen did ignore him completely despite having noticed his presence.
Kramer gets up from his seat and starts marching in place, imitating a military man, which infuriates Ben. And everyone bursts out laughing. Ben decides to leave for good, and regrets having entered that place, he definitely thinks it was a mistake. So he decides to go home as soon as possible. Just as he starts to climb the steep road home he remembers that he needs to buy some food, he takes a few steps back, but decides that it's really best to find a way to never meet those people again.
So he goes up to his house to plan another way to get groceries, somewhere else perhaps, where he won't have to cross any of those. So he rushes back to his house and locks himself in. He makes himself comfortable, takes a shower and starts reading a book on military strategy. He falls asleep quickly.
There's a knock on the door, for the first time. It must definitely be my new neighbors, he thinks, but to his surprise, it was his cousin Jem, accompanied by Kramer's jester. Confused by such a strange event, he is reluctant to invite them in, but she tells him they only came to bring him that basket of food, as a welcome gift. The three of them sit on a bench up there, under one of the orange trees, as leaves fall from him. Jen in the middle. With the basket, she handed out the food. There was fruit, various kinds of bread and ham. Also honey and wine. Kramer was behaving very differently, but so was his cousin, Ben thought yesterday's was a product of the euphoria of the brewery. They laughed for a long time and then the two visitors said goodbye, but not before inviting him to come back to the brewery for a good time.
Shortly after they entered, they knocked on Ben's door again, thinking they must have forgotten something to tell him, but it wasn't the two of them.
It was one of her new neighbors, Vanessa, who was pregnant, and had two daughters in addition. She was bringing him an orange cake. Ben showed her in and they talked for a while. She told him that she had been living there for a few years, and that her husband and father of her daughters was in the military, and she was assigned to that house. That, although she had not been at war, her husband had disappeared, without a trace. So she gets by with the help of the nation.
After resting for a while, Ben gets ready to go back to the tavern to meet his friends on the way down. He walks down the path of reddish and golden trees, various shades of green as well, with a slight smile. Disconcerting was his surprise as he passed the door. Kramer was surrounded by several, imitating Ben, and making jokes about him, as they all laughed uproariously. There were more people this time, and several of the women were wearing military clothing, a garment called in Lebrassia "light armor," worn by women in the military, which consisted of some sort of tight-fitting leather with defensive properties, complemented by elbow and knee protectors, military boots, and gloves. The colors were interspersed, for example, pine green below, and the harness and protectors olive green or red, or black, also different shades of green, from yellowish to almost bluish. Always the leather with an almost metallic finish, quite polished. On their left arms they had a black armband with a red seal, like a crest with the two lower points curved outward.
It was a very awkward and unexpected moment for Ben, and he didn't know what was going on, other than that he had clearly been totally deceived and betrayed of his good deal. Not only did Kramer look at him with derision, so did his cousin Jem.
An acquaintance from long before, Rafaela, a redhead with hip-length hair, milk-white skin and freckles, and honey-colored eyes, now also wearing light, dark pine green metallic armor that simulated a second skin, with red harnesses and guards on top, as well as her boots, leotard and other accessories, approached Ben, but not to greet him, no, she approached him to taunt him and laugh in front of him. The last memory that Ben had of Rafaela was, as a child, when he had told her that he wanted to read a book that had been recommended to him, and hours later, she herself unexpectedly came to take it to him. It was a gesture that Ben appreciated very much at the time.
Ben left the place, while he continued to listen to Rafaela's loud laughter and verbal attacks. As he climbed the hill, very angry and dismayed, and at the same time confused, he tried in his mind to find a way to overcome everything and send his anger to grow more and more. He saw with disdain, the bench where he had shared together with Jem, and Kramer, had leaves on it, and others were still slowly falling. He then proceeded to lock himself in his house for a good while.
Through the window, she saw her neighbors playing while drying their washed clothes. The intrigue of what was going on down there was such that, without any reservations, he went to ask her, perhaps as an excuse, to talk to someone, if she, Vanessa, knew about what was going on in the brewery. Vanessa greeted him with a friendly smile, they greeted each other and, almost immediately, Ben asked her if she had any idea what was going on down there.
Vanessa, on the other side of the varnished wood fence, told him that she wasn't sure what he was talking about, but that, she had heard, of a group of young women who were "doing military stuff", they weren't from the nation's army, but no one was stopping them from wearing militia-like garb either. She also told him that she had seen a couple or more of those girls in light armor, up here on the hill, several weeks before Ben came to move in.
Ben decided he had to protect himself, and went for his pyro-sword. This is a weapon widely used by advanced warriors in Lebrassia. It is a sword, large in size, which in its handle carries a container with magical fuel. By pressing a trigger located on the handle, two tubes at the base of the blade expel the vapors of the flammable liquid, which, with a spark shot from these conduits, launch a great flame that spreads throughout the blade. The warrior's magical power could make this flame much larger and more damaging.
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Humans, by nature, have red magic or blood magic, with the fire element at the center. The deities of the east, the magic of the sun, and the dark and ice deities of the west, the magic of the moon. When a balance is achieved between two of these magics, the mythical balance is obtained, a superior power that makes the one who achieves it invincible. However, if two or all three magics are used at the same time, without achieving the balance, negative effects will be obtained, such as illness or weakness, depending on the depth of the use of the magics in question.
It is said that. A thousand years ago, before the formation of Lebrassia and Oldania, a princess on a lost continent in the West, struck a balance between human magic and ice magic, sending demons and dark dragons into the land of men in the East, destroying the kingdoms and plunging the population into total starvation. A social revolution caused the people to dethrone the royalty and Lebrassia was created, a country without kings or religion, where men rule strictly. Of the sun worshippers, the people of the east, Oldania remained as a reminder of those bygone days. It is still a mystery why Lebrassia does not absorb Oldania, as it did the reigns of the past.
Ben had a very strong training at the academy. He is no ordinary soldier, he is trained to single-handedly take down an enemy squad. He is a magical warrior of fire. Red or human magic can also manifest, in addition to the fire created, as intelligence or chaos. Part of the reason why he avoids confrontation with disrespectful young girls or almost unknown buffoons.
Looking out the back window, Ben notices the hares that give the hill where he lives its name. He firmly believes they are coming to look for him. He's not quite sure what's going on, but he can feel it. He goes and looks in his mailbox to see if there is a letter left for him as a warning, but there is nothing. He begins to feel despair. He tries to calm down a bit. And he thinks. The only thing he doesn't know about Hare Hill is who lives in the third house. Maybe he should go pay a visit....
As usual, the wind was blowing quite hard in the late afternoon. The trees were constantly swaying in the cool breeze. Ben grabbed his black leather trench coat, and headed off to pay a visit to the abode he had yet to see. Halfway there, he wondered why he hadn't asked Vanessa about this neighbor in one of their chats. With a basket of oatmeal bread, and after turning around for a moment, he decided it was better to go by himself for once. It had been bad enough since he arrived, nothing could be worse.
The house was somewhat different from the other two, his and Vanessa's and her daughters'. It was a little further away and located towards the road downhill to Vemen. He knocked on the door and waited. He knocked again and there was no answer. A little confused, he looked up trying to see through the wooden windows, but saw nothing. He walked away with his back turned, to see if he could see any movement anywhere, but to no avail. He exhaled, took another breath, and turned around. He walked a few steps and heard something inside the house. On his way back, the door opened. It was a tender old woman, with long, white hair. She greeted him with a smile and invited him in.
Ben introduced himself, and the old woman told him that her name was Irma. She told him to come into the kitchen, and he thanked her for the oatmeal breads, which she liked very much, because they were very soft. Mrs. Irma's kitchen, was quite large, all of gray stone, with a large square open window in the back, where you could see the cloudy sky. The clouds were moving very fast. Strings of garlic hung from the ceiling, as well as strips of various types of sausage. She asked Ben to put the basket down on the table, it was a large oak table, very heavy and rustic. The lady smiled and as she detailed it and turned her eyes back, as she searched the kitchen cabinets for some utensils.
Ben noticed, and when he tried to ask her, she interrupted and told him that she was going to prepare something he would surely like. She took some garlic, a spicy sausage and started chopping on a board. Ben told her there was no need for her to cook for him. But Mrs. Irma insisted. He was so in need of affection and cordiality that he simply let himself be carried away by the hospitality that was offered to him at that moment. There was a moment of silence afterwards, somewhat awkward, as the breeze came through the window at that moment and ruffled her hair. She told him that he reminded her of someone. Ben asked her if it was a relative, presumably her son or grandson; Mrs. Irma smiled and laughed and said no, that it was a long time ago, and that she had never seen the person in question in person.
Ben was even more confused. The old woman finished cooking and set about serving the dishes. It was an old recipe, but one that Ben did not know at all, a dough of wheat and sheep's cheese, which partially covered the spiced pork sausage cooked in garlic oil and spices, accompanied by a red sauce with tomato and red fruits. The dough had the softness of an exquisite bread, and the intense flavor of sheep cheese. The combination was delicate and felt like a hug. Then he picked up a black bottle of wine, without a label, almost round and sturdy at the base, and thin at the top. And poured the two glasses. Ben realized that he had not waited for her to start eating, and he apologized, and complimented Mrs. Irma's food. The old lady smiled at him, and Ben, not knowing what subject to make conversation about, insisted, which person he reminded her of.
Then she asks him to wait for a moment, and gets up from the table. Mrs. Irma slowly goes in search of something. Ben watches through the window the clouds move, until after a while the old lady returns with some things under her arm. He gets up to help her, he did not imagine that she was going to bring those things that seemed a little heavy. She brings a small trunk, and something that seems to be an oil painting covered with a canvas, and with Ben's help, they place everything on the table.
Mrs. Irma uncovered the painting, very old, it was the portrait of a very beautiful young woman, also with blue eyes and jet black hair like Ben. That smiling girl had very white skin, and very red lips. She could well be his sister. The old woman said, I'm going to tell you a story while we eat, is that okay? Ben declared himself interested and very curious. Mrs. Irma asked him if he didn't feel that no matter how hard he tried to do things right so that everything would be in harmony, everything seemed to become even more chaotic; that seemed to sum up the short time Ben had been on Hare Hill.
"A long time ago, there was a girl, full of joy, she was a princess from a land far away. Her name is used as a myth, a myth that everyone knows, as something that perhaps never happened, and that superstitious people only tell to feel important. Because, what is said to have happened in reality, is that there were catastrophes of the nature of the world, which made things change to what we have now.
Before we lived in this country that only believes in man, everything was more like our frozen-in-time neighbor, Oldania. People worshipped whatever they saw in the firmament, the sun or the moon. It was not such a rare thing, you see the moon and the sun always, no matter what happens, or how your day was, in the end, the moon tucks you in with its coat, and the sun gives you a chance to get better, once again, without missing. Two thousand years ago, a family called the Boron were expelled from these lands for committing what was considered a sacrilege. They had to cross the sea to the icy, dark west, just where the perpetual storm is now, which prevents them from seeing anything on the horizon.
After almost dying in the icy waters, they miraculously reached a sad and mysterious land. There were no colors, silver and pale tones, contrasted with a black sky. The sand was black, and silver dunes with pale grass. In the background, imposing snow-capped mountains. The bearskins they were wearing did not seem to be enough to withstand the terrible cold of that place. However, the determination of that family seemed to be their only ally until that moment, . Expelled from the lands of the sun, for being the first to worship the moon and black magic, to try to save the life of its youngest member, without success, the Boron were the first settlers of the cold and dark lands of the far west, Gobegor.
Meanwhile, the lands of the Sun, now known as the lands of man, now comprising Lebrassia and Oldania, continued to worship the Sun exclusively. But, before long, several began to worship the moon, hoping to gain the power of black magic, being likewise banished and sent into exile in Gobegor. These people who had been outcasts, for some reason, were somehow immune to the extreme conditions of these new lands. These people joined the Gobegor and recognized them as the leaders of this new society in the lunar lands.
A thousand years later, and a thousand years before our era, Gobegor was already a kingdom, with a port city, and a castle at the western end. A black castle, like the Gobegorian rock. A light, shining through the royal corridors, was a 5 year old girl, Cristalia, with her white bear coat, darkest black hair, blue eyes and smooth skin between white and pink. The castle was as far west as any person had ever gone. It was on a mirror of ice, on a mountain, which could be climbed by a long and wide natural path, starting from the dunes. Cristalia was a very happy girl, very boisterous, totally different from the nature of that place.
The kingdom of Gobegor had been at war for centuries with the lands of the Sun, a maritime war. Little or nothing had been invaded one side or the other. Gobegor was too cold to be invaded by the solar, and the lands of the sun, the number of soldiers was too high compared to the soldiers of the moon. Always the advantage, was greater at home, for each. These conditions had contributed to a perpetual war.
Cristalia grew up, she was already a young girl, very beautiful, the most beautiful of all the kingdoms, and with her great kindness and eloquence, she convinced her father, the king, to initiate peace in the world.
In the land of the Sun, there was talk that, Cristalia Boros was a miracle after eons of confrontation, and that, men would be united again."
Ben had lost track of time as he listened to the old woman's story. Night had already fallen, and the stars had appeared, in the window. He said goodbye to Mrs. Irma, and thanked her for the delicious meal. So he retired to his house, while it already looked like a heavy rain was about to fall.
At dawn, with the first rays of sunlight, disturbing news arrived. From the window, Ben could see Vanessa looking very worried with a letter in her hand. She was pacing back and forth by her mailbox. He watched as she walked toward the backyard of her house, then stood with her arms folded. Ben got ready and dressed, to see what was wrong with her, at that hour, so early in the morning. He approached her at the wooden fence that divides the two houses, and went so far as to ask her how she was doing and what was wrong.
She told him she was very concerned about the letter she had just received, and showed it to him. It was a letter from the authorities, warning that the security force had been reduced to almost nothing. This meant that bandits and thieves, who steal and hide in the forest, would be able to reach the houses. Ben hugged her and told her not to worry, that he would take care of everyone there. Vanessa's daughters were still asleep. The sunlight was just breaking through some clouds, with a few golden threads visible from the sky.
Ben returned home, drank some orange juice while looking out the windows of his house at the surroundings of Hare Hill. He went up to the attic, on the third floor, where he keeps his weapons, militia items and magic items. He took out some items from one trunk, from another, and organized everything in an old medium-sized wooden box. He went downstairs with that box, and left his house, locking the door, standing for a moment in silence in front of the door. He turned around and headed for his backyard, where Vanessa's daughters were watching him from a second-story window next door. Ben greeted them from there with an outstretched hand and a smile. He walked to the end of his yard, where the deepest curve of the hill is and where the forest that covers the entire elevation begins.
Ben was from here to there, on the edge of the whole reasonably walkable area of the hill, where you can see the abyss, he, along with his wooden box that he organized in his loft.
After he finished what he was doing, he went to visit Mrs. Irma. He found her watering her flowers in the front garden, greeted her and just as he was about to tell her about the letter Vanessa had received, he just asked her to make sure she always locked her door. Ben didn't want to worry her, and thought it was a better idea to just watch out for her and keep any strangers from coming near the place.
Upon returning home, Vanessa was outside her house, and with a smile, she invited Ben to lunch. Ben asked her to wait for a moment to put the wooden box away, and that he would be right back. So he packed a bottle of orange juice to go. He went to Vanessa's house with the bottle of orange juice, and noticed that Vanessa, her teenage daughter Valentina, and the best daughter Valeska were eagerly waiting for him.
They had made for her a great meal! On the rectangular table, with a light cream-colored embroidered tablecloth, like almost all the decoration of Vanessa's house, they had baked pork loin, with bacon sauce and herbs, several types of sauce, red, yellow and black. The red was sweet, reminiscent of strawberries and cherries, the yellow was sweet and sour, reminiscent of yellow fruits, and the black was salty and spicy. There were also several types of breads, butter, milk, nutty and truffled. A board with various types of cheeses, goat, sheep and beef and adorned with wildflower petals also complemented this unexpected feast to share with Ben.
Everything tasted very good, Ben was pleased at the friendliness of his neighbors, and was pleasantly surprised by Vanessa's culinary skills, as well as those of Mrs. Irma. They were all eating at ease, when the distant sound of a bell interrupted Ben. Vanessa and her daughters were only a little puzzled, but Ben got up from his seat and asked them to stay and eat.
Ben went out calmly and, as he was heading for the door, he could see someone outside, waiting for him. It was Rafaela, she was dressed in her military uniform, metallic pine green, and over it, gloves, leotard and red boots. She had her cherry red hair loose as usual, down to her hips.
Rafaela smiled with a defiant attitude. Vanessa peeked through the door and asked Ben if he would show her friend in. Vanessa had thought Rafaela was Ben's military buddy. She invited her in, and Ben had no choice but to let her into Vanessa's house. With a suspicious attitude, Rafaela walks gracefully over and sits in the chair where Ben was sitting, and to everyone's surprise and indignation, she swings both legs up onto the table, placing her boots on the cheese board. Ben prepares to confront her, but at that moment several bells start ringing in various directions.
The bell decoys that Ben had just installed to detect intruders were being activated on all edges of Hare Hill. The place was being overrun. Rafaela sarcastically asked him if he wasn't going to see what was going on outside. Ben told her to come out for good, Rafaela ignored him as she stared at him, then stood on the table, stomping on the food with her red boots and apologizing by way of offense. She then walked out of the house, where Glowen was waiting for her, also dressed in light armor, but of a slightly bluer green, and wearing black boots, harness and jockstrap. Glowen had brought along a pair of subjects, very tall and intimidating, wearing leather clothing and armed with swords on their backs. One had long blond hair, the other short auburn hair. Ben looked at them and headed for home, while they smiled and told him he was a coward. They kept calling him, even though Ben had already closed the door of his house.
Just as they determined to go and get him out of there, Ben opens the door to his house, but armed with his pyro sword in one hand. And before one of the two men could say another word to the other, Ben runs towards them and they make a great leap, he presses the trigger on the handle of his sword, releasing the flammable magical gases, brushes the blade against the ground of stone generating sparks and makes a cut across the chest of the short-haired man, a gash from shoulder to ribs, through the entire torso, and lighting it wound on fire, the fellow turns to his companion, revealing the flaming wound and unable to say a word, and the other swings to attack ben with his sword and the moment the two weapons touch, ben's sword cuts the invader's in two as if it were butter and the cut edge of each fragment red-hot and burst into flames. Then, losing his main weapon, the enemy pulls a knife from his leg and attacks ben with it, who easily dodges the move, and the guy ends up finishing off his already wounded companion, plunging the knife into his abdomen.
Ben cast his final technique, the spell called firestorm, in one swift motion raising his flaming sword into the heavens, setting the air around him ablaze from the ground upward, a hellish rising wind that instantly burned even the leaves that were gently falling on the spot. A vertical red line reaching up to the clouds was seen in the distance. A column of fire ascending into the heavens lifted the battered bodies of the two invaders, as they screamed in terror, spinning from above, almost transformed into incandescent charcoal.
Ben immediately removed the magic fuel cartridge from the handle of his sword, and inserted a new one. With his head down. As he raised his head, there was someone else, Kramer, who was wearing light armor also, metallic pine green, with black accessories, and next to him was a third woman, about 28 years old very athletic, with blonde hair pulled back very long almost to her legs, and wearing shiny black light armor and pine green accessories. Kramer smiled as he looks at him and claps his hands, Ben takes him as a target and moves quickly towards him, but the mysterious woman draws her own sword and deflects Ben's attack and says, "enough, it's time to go", Ben remains on guard, defending his position, while Rafaela, Glowen, Kramer, and the mysterious blonde woman go down the steep exit of Hare Hill. Farther down, Kramer tells Ben in a loud voice that his little bells are very cute and they disappear down the road.
This is war. Thus began the confrontation between Ben, protector of Hare's Hill, and those misguided, aggressive young men who seemed to be doing everything possible to complicate Ben's life, even to the point of bringing miscreants into his and his neighbors' dwellings. The intruders were able to practically evade the decoys set up by Ben around the high ridge, they sounded, but too late. What actually happened?
Ben requested by mail to his superiors that help in defense equipment be delivered urgently, as they were under continuous attack. While there is no more manpower to be present at the site, some help with tools could improve the situation.
It has been said that Kramer and those young women were wreaking havoc. The days went on, and Ben continued to care for his neighbors. Vanessa organized the supply of bivouacs from Vemen, where the merchant agreed to send boxes and barrels of food and drink periodically, but on days agreed upon in secret, to avoid any ambushes on the slope.
After several weeks, the presence of Kramer's group had vanished. Oddly enough, no strangers were seen hanging around again. So, Ben thought it was time to take a look around Vemen.